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The 'Shia Crescent' and Iranian Influence

What is the Shia Crescent, and how does Iran’s government exploit it to spread its influence and sow division across the region, from the Karun River to the Mediterranean Sea? Lebanese journalist Hanin Ghaddar, a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute, discusses the Shia Crescent, Iranian influence, and the loss of the Lebanon she once knew. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The Middle East through Gulf Eyes

During an eventful week in the Middle East – which included President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the death of Yemen’s former president Saleh – a fifty-person delegation from The Washington Institute traveled to the capitals of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates to meet with senior leaders, engage with a broad range of local society, and learn about important changes under way in each country. Institute scholars Robert Satloff and Katherine Bauer share their findings from an eventful week traveling around the Gulf. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Israel at the United Nations with Ambassadors Gillerman, Gold, and Prosor

On December 5, 2017, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy honored three former Israeli ambassadors who fought for justice and fairness at the United Nations: Dore Gold, Dan Gillerman, and Ron Prosor. The annual Scholar-Statesman Awards ceremony, held in New York City, took place on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the ratification of the UN's Partition Plan for Palestine. Institute executive director Robert Satloff led a lively conversation with Ambassadors Gold, Gillerman, and Prosor about Israel's relationship with the world body, institutional bias against the Jewish state, and prospects for leveraging improved bilateral ties to create opportunities for Israeli interests in multilateral forums. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Authoritarianism, Memory, and Literature in Turkey

Do Turkey’s political and social upheavals following that country’s 1980 military coup have anything to tell us about Turkey under President Erdogan today? Journalist Ece Temelkuran believes so, and in her new novel, “The Time of Mute Swans,” she tells a story of post-coup Ankra in which divisions and bloodshed blur the lines between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, beauty and ugliness. Listen to a conversation about authoritarianism and literature with Temelkuran, distinguished American diplomat and Turkish literature scholar Robert Finn, and the Institute's own Soner Cagaptay. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Operation Torch and the Making of U.S. Mideast Policy

Seventy-five years ago, in November 1942, American troops made their first landing in the modern Middle East. Operation Torch, the allied invasion of French North Africa, set the stage for subsequent offensives against Axis forces in Sicily, Italy, Greece, and France. Did American decisions during and after Torch also set the stage for the next eight decades of U.S. policy across the broader Middle East? Institute executive director Robert Satloff and historian Eliot Cohen explore the choices made by American diplomats and generals at the time of Operation Torch to trace their lasting effects on U.S. policy. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.